Silent Forest, Shadows Long
by Jody14
Summary: Five kids having a sleepover. Horror story. A legend. And a courage test, gone horribly wrong. A Slender/Pokémon crossover not in crossovers, because Slender doesn't have its own category as of yet. Slight Dualrivalshipping -CherenxBelle-, Isshushipping -NxTouya- friendship, slight Ferriswheelshipping -NxTouko- and brother-to-sister care Chessshipping -TouyaxTouko-
1. A Courage Test Gone Horribly Wrong

**A/N:** Helloooo, everybody.

It's been a long time since I submitted anything here, once again. I need to update my fanfics more often. So this time, a multichapter fanfic after a long time. This time, a crossover. Anyways, going back to the point. Story you're about to read is a horror story, based on a game that has been going around for a while now. So if you're bad with horror, and didn't check the story tag... you might want to rethink wether you'll read it or not.

Every gamer on Youtube, tends to play at least one round of "Slender" these days. Judging by the gameplays I've seen, it seemed like a scary game. Scary as hell. I decided to try it out anyway though. The surroundings and music create quite a tension, next to the fact that you know... well, that there's _something _out there, following you. The object of the game is simple. Collect 8 pages, scattered around the forest, around certain landmarks. There are more landmarks than pages. I think there's around ten or eleven. So trying to outsmart the game and figuring out where the pages are, won't do you much good. Believe me, I tried. The first page triggers the appearance of the mythical "Slenderman" and the more pages you find, the harder he'll try to chase you around. He'll follow you, teleport closer and closer to you, until you... well _die _or something. I was never completely sure what he does to you. But when you look at him, the screen starts having static spasm attacks. The longer you look at him, the worse it gets. Also if you look at him for too long, you _will_ die and your game _will_ end. In old versions, you ended up staring into his... well faceless face, while the screen was still doing its static thingy. To my horror, I heard that in older versions the game, the game automatically shut down when he caught you. If that happened to me, I'd be freaking out and started yelling my computer was virus-infected or something. My game doesn't do that though, it just brings you back to the menu and lets you retry the thing. Well, I might be spoiling right now all of those who wanted to see how "Slender" ends for themselves. The game gives you a fake feeling of safety, by giving you an objective. "Collect 8 pages." Yup, simple enough. Then you realize, that you've triggered Slenderman's appearance by picking up your first page. Oh, don't worry. _Not_ picking up the first page won't do you any good. It doesn't make a difference. He'll start chasing you if you don't get your first page for a certain ammount of time anyways. You figure out, the only option you have is fighting back by finding the eight pages, since now the objective sounds like it'll actually help you get you out of this horrid place, or at least protect you from Slenderman. Then you realize, you see him more and more, the more pages you have, the worse it gets. He's getting closer and closer. To make everything worse, you can't run for more than five seconds. And each time you do, it _lowers_ your base stamina as well. Just great. After a while, you start spinning in circles, since all the trees in that damn forest look the same. Your flashlight starts dying. You end up in a forest so dark, you can't see five feet in front of you, if you play for too long. Sudden static flashes on your screen, indicating that he is in fact _very_ close keep you jumping in fear. Then, you finally reach your last page (_if_ you are lucky to avoid the guy long enough). You pick it up. You think you're safe. In reality, you're not. He teleports right behind you. He _kills_ you anyways, even though you _collected_ all the pages you thought would help you get out of this safe. What a bummer. It's a good game for those who like shock-factor horror, instead of the masacre kind. I wouldn't play it in the dark, with lights turned off if I were you though.

Why have I just summarized the whole game at you guys? Well I wanted to prove I knew how "Slender" works. The story has been altered, to fit the story of "Slender", but not to every little detail. Slenderman in the story doesn't kill, rather he takes human souls away. Also I don't really like the idea of death-fic. I won't spoil everything to you, you'll just have to read it for yourself, if you want to know how it ends.

For a short story explanation: in this fic, N moved to Nuvema town with Ghetsis not so long ago. He met Touya and Touko, _before_ they started their Pokémon journey. In short, they're younger than they are in the games, and they _do not have Pokémon for their own protection_. Just a slight update on ages: Touko, Touya, Cheren and Belle are around 12 years old, while N is about 14 years old. The story includes a little bit of _DualRivalShipping _(CherenXBelle), slight brother-to-sister _ChessShipping_ (TouyaXTouko) love, some hints of _FerrisWheelShipping_ (NxTouko) and relationship between Touya and N, built as a relationship between girl's possible boyfriend and girl's older brother (slight _IsshuShipping_).

Now, on to the fanfiction. A big thank you to everybody who read the whole Author's note, even though it might be longer than the actual prologue.

Have fun reading, and don't let the Slenderman get you.

_**Silent Forest, Shadows Long**_

_1. Prologue: Courage Test Gone Horribly Wrong_

N was sitting on Touya's bed and reading a book, while Touya and Touko were playing cards with Cheren and Belle. He silently sighed and closed the book, when Touko chirped her _"uno" _for about the fifth time this round. He didn't understand the point of the game based on numbers and colors, with certain penalty cards added in between.

"I don't think so." Touya immediately responded and laid a "+5" penalty card on top of the pile. Everyone playing the game sighed, drawing their fair share of five cards from the facedown deck.

"Which color?"

"Red. Uno."

Cheren put a red 7 on top of the pile and Belle followed him with with red 5. Touko laid green 5 on top of it, hoping she might delay Touya's victory for another turn. Touya smiled, and N immediately knew he had something up his sleeve.

"I'm done."

Touya threw green 8 on top of the cards and leaned back. Touko pouted. She didn't like the fact that Touya won for the second time in a row, but she couldn't really file a coplain about it. He was playing by the rules.

"You know, this game is slightly boring."

Cheren pushed his glasses on top of his nose.

"I think it's fun. Come on, Cheren, don't be such a party-pooper." Belle pouted.

"What kind of fun is this? We're just playing a stupid game, that makes us randomly throw cards on a big pile. What's so fun about that?"

N almost never agreed with Cheren. They were way too different. But this time, he had to admit Cheren has a point. Touya just shrugged.

"If you have a better suggestion, out with it."

"Frankly, I don't. But anything would be better than _this_ stupid game..."

Touya laughed.

"Alright then, since Cheren thinks anything'd be better, I vote scary stories."

Cheren merely rolled his eyes. Touya was the only person in the group, who enjoyed horror. Belle couldn't go hearing one horror story without fainting. Touko didn't let herself get scared so easily. But even she felt tense, listening to Touya's stories. Cheren didn't like horror himself, but for a completely different reason. Because it bored him to death. Whatever had anything to do with paranormal didn't exist in his opinion, and was therefore a complete waste of time.

Finally N decided to speak his mind.

"You know, Touya... maybe it's not such a good idea... seriously, you might summon something, or something like that..."

Touya rolled his eyes in response.

"Summon something. Really, N? Really? For a guy you're quite a pussy, show some courage for Arceus' sake..."

N narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not a coward, and you know it, Touya."

"Prove it."

"With pleasure."

It seemed like they were about to start shooting daggers with their eyes at each other, when Touko finally jumped between.

"Stop it already, guys, you're constantly teasing each other and it's driving me insane! Tell your stupid story already Touya, so we can get this over with!"

Touya started pouting, but in the end he finally started telling the story.

"Well... I take it you all know that urban legend, don't you?"

Cheren laughed.

"Ofcourse we do. Every person _alive _living in Nuvema knows _that _old legend..."

Belle started turning her head from Cheren to Touya, and then back to Cheren. Then she chirped out of the blue.

"Legend? What legend?"

N seemed slightly confused due to Touya's statement as well.

Cheren facepalmed.

"You know, Belle... that just destroyed my whole arguement... _obviously_ N doesn't know about it, since he _moved _to Nuvema town recently, but you Belle... you've been living here for your whole life. You should've known about it, if you haven't been living under a rock this whole time..."

Belle was offended by that statement, and she squealed.

"You meannie... what legend are you talking about, Touya?"

Touya just laughed and continued his story.

"Well, remember what our parents use to tell us all the time? _'Don't go into the tall grass without Pokémon'_, is it? It's true. We're not supposed to go into tall grass without Pokémon for protection from other Pokémon. But it's far from this being just it. There's a legend, parents tell to their children in Nuvema, to keep them from going into woods at night. They say that in the forest on the outskirts of Nuvema town dwells a creature. There are also stories of children who entered the forest at night. Some of them never came back. Others returned as empty shells, living for a week at most. Those who did, kept repeating just one song over and over again."

Touya cleared his throat and started reciting the verses.

"_In the middle of the night,_

_run, just run, don't try to fight._

_Silent forest, shadows long, _

_Young boy, young girl, just hear this song._

_He'll be staring, watching, stalking,_

_can you hear those treetops talking?_

_A man so tall, wearing a tie,_

_Helplessly you can just cry._

_Do not look, you're bound to see,_

_you would be wise to turn and flee._

_For no one helps, or hears your moan,_

_when he takes away your soul._

_Beware the man, the Slenderman,_

_for he can do what no one can._

_He waits for you under the moon..._"

"_To take you to your certain doom_." Cheren silently added. N watched them both without a word. Belle was already shivering. Touko was clenching her fists as well.

"The legend goes, that a tombstone was set for all the children, who disappeared in a contact with this creature, this so-called _Slenderman_. Three more are said to have disappeared last week." Touya continued. Then he laughed and clapped his hands together. "And, well... since N was so _determined_ he's not a coward before, I dare him to go into the forest and touch that tombstone."

N clenched his teeth. As a future king of Unova, his pride didn't let him show any fear.

"We'll go with you part of the way, okay, N?"

Touya pulled the flashlight out of his drawer. Touko and Cheren stood up as well.

"W...Wa... Wait a second, you're not _seriously_ suggesting we go there?"

Belle squealed.

"What if something goes wrong, what if there's at least a _little_ bit of truth in that legend? What if you guys... _don't come back_?"

Cheren pulled on his blue jacket.

"If you're scared, you can stay here Belle. We'll be back soon."

All four of them turned around and left the room. Belle stared behind them for a couple of seconds. Then she thought she heard something moving behind the curtain.

"W... wait for me, guys!"

She jumped on her feet and dashed out of the room as fast as she could. She soon caught up to them and clinged to Cheren's arm. Nobody said a word, until they reached the narrow road, leading straight to the tombstone.

"Here you go, N. It's your turn to shine."

Touya handed him the flashlight. N took a deep breath. He had to do this, even if he could feel his knees shaking already. He slowly stepped onto the path. He kept flashlight aimed at the tombstone. He decided not to look back, even though he had a bad feeling Touya was planning a practical joke of some sort, that included scaring him to death. Luckily, nothing of the sorts happened, until he reached the tombstone. He slowly put his hand on top of it. What he heard kept him standing still for another minute or so.

"Okay, N, you can come back now... I get it, you've proven you're not a coward, stop _just standing_ there and _come back_ already!"

He barely realized he was driving Touya nuts. He was still keeping his hand on top of the stone. Then he silently whispered.

"_In the middle of the night,_

_run, just run, don't try to fight..._"

It only took a second for Touya's smile to fade away.

"Oi, N, stop playing around! Enough with the jokes, just come back here!"

N slowly raised his head and turned around to face the group, but he still didn't move his hand from the tombstone. He stared at them for a while. Then he finally told them what was going on.

"I hear voices... children's voices..."

"You _what_?"

"They're singing that song... _He waits for you under the moon..._"

"_...to take you to your certain doom..._" Touya whispered. Then he clenched his teeth.

"That's impossible, N. You're lying."

For a while, N was just looking back at him.

"I never lie. You know that, don't you Touya?"

Touya walked to the tombstone and laid his own hand on the top of it. He froze just like N did a couple of minutes ago. He could hear them alright. Voices of many children, singing the song somewhere in the distance. There were at least fifty of them.

"He's right... I can hear them too..." he finally admitted. This time it was Cheren's turn to roll his eyes.

"I hear nothing, so you're _both _lying."

If looks could kill, Cheren would have dropped dead because of the look Touya shot at him.

"We're not lying. Put your hand on top of the stone, and you'll hear by yourself."

"Cheren, wait!"

Belle clinged to Cheren's arm again.

"Cheren, what if something happens, I don't want something bad to happen..."

"It's _okay_, Belle." Cheren pulled his hand away from her. "I want to hear this. I think they're _both_ delusional though."

He walked to the stone and put his hand on top of the stone, just like N and Touya did. In the end, he had to admit.

"They're telling the truth. They _are_ singing."

Even Touko started inching closer to the stone. Belle didn't want to end up all alone. She clinged to her friend and followed her all the way to the tombstone. They both put their hands onto the cold surface of the stone.

"_In the middle of the night,_

_run, just run, don't try to fight._

_Silent forest, shadows long, _

_Young boy, young girl, just hear this song._

_He'll be staring, watching, stalking,_

_can you hear those treetops talking?_

_A man so tall, wearing a tie,_

_Helplessly you can just cry._

_Do not look, you're bound to see,_

_you would be wise to turn and flee._

_For no one helps, or hears your moan,_

_when he takes away your soul._

_Beware the man, the Slenderman,_

_for he can do what no one can._

_He waits for you under the moon,_

_To take you to your certain doom_."

Touya's grip on the cold surface of the tombstone tightened. What was going on? Was Belle _right_? Could there really be some truth behind the stories?

The song suddenly started becoming louder. The ground shook.

"_Move your hands away!_" Touya suddenly screeched. "_Everyone, move your hands away!_"

He tried to pull his hand away from the stone, but he couldn't move an inch. It was like his hand was stuck to it like glue. Judging from N's expression, the same was happening to him.

"I can't move my hand..."

N send him half frightened half desperate look. Touya knew exactly what those eyes were begging him.

'_Do something, anything, just make it stop! Stop playing around, this joke has gone too far!'_

But in reality, Touya could do nothing to help him. He could only return him a look, that was probably just as desparate as N's was. He had no clue what to do.

The ground tremored again. This time, the tremor was way stronger than before. The song became unbearably loud. All of the sudden cold strong wind started blowing, sending chills down Touya's spine. The tombstone started glowing purple, and suddenly the whole forest disappeared in a flash of purple light.

**A.N:** Okay... end of the prologue... it's a pretty simple start of a pretty simple, but freaky game. Talk about a courage test going horribly wrong...Hopefully you enjoyed the prologue, even though it was nothing special. Slenderman's song is officially my creation. Don't bash it too much, since I'm not really a poet. Did my best though, hopefully it catches the guy's creepyness. Also, the gang is randomly playing Uno cards. I love Uno cards. It's a fun game. Don't bash it for being illogical, Cheren. Constructive criticism welcomed, but flaming isn't. If I misspelled something (it happens often, since I type too fast and overlook the mistake later) just tell me in the review and I'll fix that one word. Well... Hopefully it'll get reviewed at all. I might continue the thing, I might not, depends on the feedback.

Also, I figured out my stories need a cover of some sort. I'm just too lazy to draw illustrations... I will, once in a future though.

Cya all later.


	2. Page 1: The Bathroom Deathtrap

**A.N.:** Well, since this one got its first review already, and I feel super motivated because of it, I'll update for another chapter.

Every fan of Slenderman who ever played the game _Slender_… knows they're going to get _absolutely inevitabely molested _(I actually went through that as well) if they don't pick up the notes in the bathroom or rusted oil tanks first. Because, well... the more pages you collect, the worse it gets. Running into the bathroom house with six pages or more is literary suicide. So many corners. So little space. And nowhere to run. If you go there with six pages, when mr. Slendy is literary on your tail already, you're just asking for trouble. So... I had the gang go there first, before something bad happens, right? ...Right?

For those who never played _Slender_: The bathroom has 4 rooms. Two result in a dead end, two have exits right next to them. With that, the bathroom also has 4 exits (two in the middle corridor plus two more side ones next to the rooms, one on each side of the building). The building is pretty much symmetrical. Three rooms are empty. One has a chair. Also there's a flipped over chair on the corridor leading to one of the "dead-end" rooms. These little facts are important for this and a part of the next chapter. In the fanfic the building was altered to have only 2 exits, the middle ones are missing. Also, for convinience of creepyness of this chapter, the bathroom actually has goddamn doors, not just doorways. The position of the flipped over chair was altered as well, and the chair is now in the corridor leading to the room with exit next to it.

Screw the fact that the place is called a bathroom though. It has tiles on floor and walls, I agree, but there's no bathroom equipement at all.

Next couple of facts you should know: The lady in the game probably has a camera. Which is kinda weird. Who goes into potentionally haunted forest with a camera? So my idea here is, that Slenderman, along with cameras influences human brain as well, by emmiting electro-magnetic impulses, causing their eyesight to go weird (and static-like, because I really have no clue what else Slenderman could cause when it comes to eyesight), and to hear things (like crackling sounds, accompanying the static vision).

The entire _Slender_ course is limited by fence. That's also something I changed in the fanfic, and it became a forcefield, separating the gang from their home dimension. So, escape is _still_ pretty much impossible.

**2. Page 1: The Bathroom Deathtrap**

Touya sat up and rubbed his head. What the heck just happened? He looked around the little glade. The tombstone was still there. Everything else seemed normal, except for the fact that night sky now seemed threathening with its unnatural reddish color. He didn't have the time to worry about the sky though. The rest of the group was unconscious. Touya bit his lower lip. If anything had happened to them, _anything_... he'll never be able to forgive himself.

"N... hey, N... wake up..."

He shook the older boy right next to him. N muttered something under his breath and rubbed his eyes.

"What the heck was _that_, Touya? What just _happened_?"

"I'm not sure. Let's wake up the others."

With their effort combined, they managed to wake the rest of the gang up. Belle bursted into tears as soon as she woke up. Touya barely managed to shut her up, saying she might attract something weird. It made her shut up instantly. Cheren pushed his glasses on top of his nose out of the habit. Finally he turned to Touya.

"So, now what? Hopefully you have a plan of some sort."

"Sorry, Cheren. At the moment, I'm all out of plans." Touya admitted.

"Hey, N..."

Touko sat down next to the older boy.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. My head is pounding like crazy, but I'm okay otherwise. What about you, Touko, are you hurt?"

Touko shook her head.

"I'm okay. What do you think happened?"

"No idea."

N reached his hand forward towards the ground, hoping he might find the flashlight that seemed to have turned off when it hit the ground. Meanwhile arguement broke out between Touya and Cheren.

"I didn't see _you_ being any smarter and walking away!"

"If you hadn't started it all with your _stupid_ swaggering and provoking we wouldn't even have to be here!"

"You think I don't _know_ that? You really think I _wanted_ this to happen?"

Everything remained silent for a couple of seconds. Even Cheren didn't say a thing. Touya had never gotten defensive like that. N finally found the flashlight, turned it back on and pointed the beam of light at Touya's face. Touko's twin was crying.

"Do you _seriously believe_, Cheren... do you seriously _believe_, that I wanted to put you all in danger like that? My _friends_? _My own sister_? If so, you don't know me at all. I didn't know something like this would happen... _could_ happen! It was just a game, a _stupid_ game, and..."

Cheren watched him for a couple of seconds, then he turned his back on him.

"I'm just going to tell you this once, Touya ... if Belle gets hurt because of your _stupid little game_... if she gets hurt, I'll never forgive you. Come on, Belle. We're leaving."

Belle kept turning her head from one to the other, but when Cheren started walking away she suddenly jumped on her feet.

"Cheren, wait a second..."

She ran after him and clinged to his arm. While they were walking away she turned her head around to face the trio one more time.

"Hey, Cheren! Don't be stupid! You can't just walk away without a flashlight! Cheren!"

Touya turned away, while N ran off after the couple. He clenched his fist. He furiously walked to the nearest tree and slammed his fist into its trunk with as much strenght as he could gather at the moment. How could he be so _stupid_? He just endangered the lives of everyone. N, Cheren, Belle, Touko... they were all in danger, because of his stupid mistakes. He could feel his knuckles bleeding, when he slammed his fist into the tree trunk for the fourth time, but he didn't really care. He could tell N came back by the sudden flash of light that lit up the tree for a moment. Before he could manage to hit the tree for the fifth time, somebody caught his wrist.

"_Calm down_, Touya. If you break all your fingers now, it won't do us any good."

"But..."

N just smiled in response.

"Touya, listen. You know I believe in you. I _know_ you and you aren't the type to cause unnecessary trouble to others on purpose. Calm down. It'll be okay, as long as we stay together. Right?"

He rolled up the sleeve of his upper shirt and tore off a band from it.

"Come on. Give me your hand."

Touya smiled and let N bandage his hand. He admired him in a way. Even though N was so naive, quite emotional for a boy and even though he could be a real coward sometimes, Touya really admired his ability to stay calm, his kindness and child-like positive thinking. Whenever N was around, he had a feeling everything will be okay in the end. Just his presence had a calming effect on a person. With N around, he just felt like he wouldn't freak out, no matter what.

"N... thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Touya took a deep breath.

"Okay. What's the situation?"

"Well, I couldn't find Belle or Cheren. After a while, they just vanished. Aparently we're stuck in some kind of forcefield keeping us from the outside world. I tried following them, but it all got really foggy suddenly and I ended up exactly where I started. Next to the tombstone. I know I was following Cheren and Belle _away_ from it though. It's like running in circles."

"I see..."

Touya franticly started to bite his thumb nail. He had to think about this. Judging from what N told him, they were trapped in some kind of different dimension, paralel universe, dreamworld perhaps... and every dreamworld, paralel universe or dimension _had _to have its entrance and exit. There had to be a hole in the system that could lead them back to their home world.

"Right. Maybe we should check out this place first. There has to be a message or a clue of how to get out of here."

Both, N and Touko nodded and all three of them went separate ways to search each their own part of the little glade. Touya left Touko with the west side, since the moon lit it up enough and she could see without a battery. He took on the east, while he left N with the north side around the tombstone. After five minutes or so, N called Touya back.

"Hey Touya... is this the clue?"

Touya stared at the tombstone lit up by the flashlight.

'_Collect all eight pages.'_

The names, that were carved into the stone in their world were gone. They were replaced by a simple, yet threathening sentence, written down in blood. Touya and N both just stared at the stone, until Touko snapped them out of it.

"Hey, what is it guys, what did you find?"

"Nothing, nothing..."

N turned the flashlight back towards the ground. He really didn't want Touko to see this. In the mean time, Touya just kept staring in the same direction. That was their task? To find the eight pages? If they do, will it let them leave this place?

He clenched his teeth.

It doesn't matter. He'll do whatever it takes to save his friends from this mess he had gotten them into. He turned away from the tombstone. In the mean time, Touko kept jumping on the spot to reach the flashlight N lifted above his head to keep it out of her reach.

"Give me the flashlight, N!"

"I've been in charge of it since we got here, and I'm keeping it!"

Touko growled and pulled his cap down to cover his eyes. She managed to confuse him for long enough and pulled the flashlight out of his hand while he was trying to fix his cap. She pointed it back at the tombstone. She stood there for a while, speechless just like N and Touya were before. N finally pulled his cap back to its original position. He sadly looked at Touko and sighed.

"I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to make you worry."

Touko gently slapped his forehead.

"It's still better for me to know what's going on, isn't it? At least I can be of some help. I don't want to end up just being dead weight."

She turned back to her older brother.

"You'll need all the help you can get. Right, Touya? So what's the plan?"

"There is no plan."

Touya still had to think about the position they ended up in. There was only one thing he didn't have to think about. N and Touko had to stay here. He'll find those damn pieces of paper, since he was also the one that brought them into this. But for that, he needed the flashlight. He was sure he won't be able to find much of anything in the dark. He didn't feel like leaving those two alone in the dark either. N would be able to handle the situation somehow, but Touko... she was better at dealing with horror than Belle was, that's for sure. But even so, he didn't want to leave her alone like this.

"Touya..."

Touya knew what N was trying to say just by the tone of his voice. It was clear he won't just walk away from this now.

"Look, N... I _know_ what you want to do, and _no_, it's not happening. This isn't some stupid courage test anymore. We have to work together. Stay here and watch over Touko. I'm going to find those pages and then I'm coming back for you guys, so we can get out of here together."

"Touya, to separate from each other right now is a bad idea, really _really_ bad idea..."

Touya sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Okay, okay fine! Then go with me. Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. If you see anything, anything at all, just run away. You remember, what parents always told us about Pokémon. If you have no power and protection, you shouldn't face wild Pokémon. I _assure _you, it's clear that we have no power here. Whatever the legend was telling us, the creature is _not_ human, even though it _appears_ human. If you see_ anything_, just run. And remember, _don't look back_."

Touya turned around and walked away, following the trail. Touko clinged to his arm and followed him, while N lit the path with his flashlight. For a while they were just walking into nowhere. Silence was only disturbed by normal sounds like leaves rustling in the wind or twigs cracking under their feet. Even so all three of them jumped a little every time they thought they've heard something out of the ordinary.

"Hey, Touya..." N suddenly spoke. "You know, the legend you were telling us back at home... that Slenderman , or whatever you called the creature from the myth... what is that anyway?"

"No one really knows."

Touya stopped for a moment. He thought he heard something move far in the forest on their left. He clenched his teeth and continued to walk.

"No one knows. Whoever ever came in contact with the creature either remained soulless for a week before dying, or dead. No one really had the mental stability to explain it. People only say that if you see him, it'll be the last thing you ever see. So pray he doesn't find you. And look out for places where those pages could be at."

Suddenly everyone jumped. The light hit a huge wall. The've finally reached a building.

"Like that one?" N finally asked.

Touya nodded and walked over to the house. They all stopped in front of the open door and just stared into the darkness inside the building.

"You think it's inside?" N asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. We can only figure it out one way."

Touya walked towards the entrance.

"Wait here and stand guard. Make sure nothing comes in. If anything goes wrong call me and I'll run out here to help you as much as I can. Take care of each other, okay?"

"Touya..."

"_What_, what is it N?"

Touya got scared of his own voice at the moment. He really didn't intend to snap at his friend like that. N backed a way. He seemed genuinely hurt. Touya sighed.

"Look, N, I'm sorry. I _really_ didn't want to snap at you, but... I'm kinda on edge here, I have no clue where Belle and Cheren are, something might jump at as any minute... it's not really the best time..."

"I'm going in, Touya."

Touya just watched him for a couple of minutes. N didn't look away. He really was determined to go inside. Touya knew full well, that when N was determined about something there was no way anyone could change his mind. He could be so stubborn sometimes. This time he was determined to prove that he's not a coward, and that he'll never leave him behind like Cheren and Belle did.

"You _do_ realize the danger you're going to face in there, right?"

"Well..." N paused for a second. Then he grit his teeth.

"It doesn't matter. No matter what the danger, you're the only person who at least has a clue of what might be out there. Which means you'll also be the only person who'd be able to face that thing and fight it. If there's anything inside this building, besides that page... we can't risk anything happening to you. You're the only one that really knows, what we're up against."

Touya just sighed.

"You really are stubborn, aren't you, N... You really don't get it, it's not worth risking your life for me. If you walk in there, you might not come back at all. Yet still..."

"I'm going."

For a while Touya didn't answer. Then...

"Fine. If you're so sure you can make it... but remember, don't do anything reckless. Call for help the moment you think you can't handle the situation. Don't stay on the same spot for too long. Leave the building as soon as possible, after you find the page. And..."

Touya paused for a moment. The feeling he had, the feeling that he might never see his friend again... it felt just horrible.

"... just don't die on me, okay N?"

N just lauged in response.

"I'll be okay, Touya. I promise I'll be back with that page."

"Talk to us at all times. The moment you don't respond I'll go in and check if you're okay."

"Okay, deal."

N took a deep breath, handed Touya the flashlight and walked into the building. It seemed like a bathroom of some sort, since he could see the floor and walls were covered with tiles. But there seemed to be no equipment at all. Moonlight falling through the windows of the rooms reflected on the tiles and made it possible to see without a flashlight. The corridors were completely empty.

"N, are you okay?"

N blinked when he heard Touya's voice from outside. He almost forgot he was supposed to talk to them to let them know he's alright.

"Yes, it's fine, Touya."

"How does it look like in there?"

"Well... judging from the structure of the building, it has four symmetrical rooms. Two are further away down the corridor, and two are closer to the exit where you and Touko are. Rooms are each at one side of the corridor, to the left and to the right at both sides."

"Check the ones that are further away from here first. Don't take too much time in those two, since you'll have to run all the way back if something happens and we'll take longer to get there. After you're sure they're empty check those closer to us. You'll have more chances of getting out if anything goes wrong."

"Okay."

N put his hand on the wall and slowly walked towards the rooms further away. He took a deep breath when he reached the entrance to the first room.

"I'm next to the entrance."

"You ready?"

"Yes."

He clenched his teeth and looked around the corner into the room. He quickly but carefully scanned the walls with his eyes.

"It seems empty. There's nothing here. No furniture where the page could be hidden. Just bare walls."

"Is anything hanging on the wall?"

"No, nothing."

"Okay, just check the other ones."

Second room further away proved to be empty as well. Touya listened to his friend's footsteps while he slowly scanned the surroundings with the little light flashlight provided. For now, everything seemed peaceful. N checked both rooms further away, so he'll probably be okay. And even if something happens, he can reach him in time with Touko. He turned his head to look at his little sister. Touko seemed calm enough on the outside, but he knew she was scared. They had to finish this, and fast. As soon as possible.

Suddenly he thought he heard rustling nearby on his right. He turned around and let the flashlight throw its light on a couple of trees to his right. Touko followed him with her eyes. She heard it as well. Just a moment later, rustling came back. This time on their left.

"Heard that?"

Touko turned her head to her left. Touya lit up the direction rustling came from. There was nothing, except for bushes.

"Touya, what's going on..."

"I don't know... It's like someone is playing with us..."

Touya growled.

"N, did you find anything, anything at all?"

"The third room, the one with entrance closer to you was empty, and it looks like the last one might be empty as well... except there's a chair in its corner, wait a second."

Touya listened.. Everything seemed quiet, except for N's footsteps echoing inside the building.

"Yeah, it's here. Wait, what the..."

Touya turned around.

"N, N are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just... are you sure this is what we're looking for? It's a page alright, but there's nothing that could help us get out of here... it's just scribbles. A faceless figure and a single word saying _follows_."

"Nothing else?"

"No. Nothing at all."

"Okay then. Take it anyway and get out of there."

Suddenly Touya jumped. He heard footsteps nearby, and his head started pounding like crazy. He started to scan the surroundings as fast as he could with his flashlight to find the enemy before it could find _them_.

"Touya, what is this... where is it..."

Touya growled. It didn't seem like it, but if Cheren was playing pranks on them, it wasn't funny.

"Show yourself, you coward! I know you're here!"

He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. But for a second he heard the door screeching. He turned around just to see the door slam into their faces, keeping them away from N. Just a second later a scream send chills down Touya's spine. N's scream. He was screaming on top of his lungs.

"N! N, hold on, we're coming!"

Touko grabbed the door-knob and tried to push the door away, but the door wouldn't budge.

"It's either stuck or locked..."

Touya clenched his teeth. They had to get inside. Touko was almost driven insane, worrying about her friend. She banged the door as much as she could.

"N! What's going on?"

She rammed the door with all of ther might. Touya knew they didn't have much of a choice. They had to break through somehow. They rammed the massive door together.

"What's going on, _what is this thing_?"

"_N, hang on, we're coming to help you as soon as we can!_"

N clenched his teeth. Hanging on was easier said than done. Everything darkened all of the sudden after he read the page. Only a couple of seconds later the door slammed. The only thing he heard after that were footsteps coming closer and something slammed him with such force he was thrown into the wall. He found himself on the floor, and as soon as he tried to get up he was knocked down again. He had no choice but to try and fight whatever was waiting in the dark, while he was still clutching a piece of paper in his hand. Suddenly something cold wrapped tight around his right wrist. The strenght it was holding him with was almost definately not human. Before he knew it he was slammed into the wall again, and knocked down with the next blow. He was so frightened he couldn't even scream anymore. He didn't have a clue what he was fighting. But whatever it was, fighting him seemed like a child's play to the creature.

"Touya... Touko... anyone, just help me... please help me..."

He silently sobbed. Touya was right, he had no clue what he was going to face when he walked into this building. The only thing he knew now, was that he's not going to be able to hold out for much longer. He was convinced the thing is going to kill him on the spot. If he could at least see _something_, _anything_...

Then, the moon threw its light back into the room through the windows. He found himself cornered, staring up at the creature he was fighting for the past couple of minutes. It was the most terrifying creature he had ever seen. It seemed human at first sight, but there was no way it was.

"N!"

The door leading to the outside shook again. N knew they won't be able to reach him in time. Tears were slowly rolling down his cheeks. Suddenly the thing let out a sound. It was like silent hissing, but he could still clearly hear a male voice, telling him a _very _clear sentence.

"_The page... give me the page..."_

N barely dared to breathe. He was so frightened he couldn't move. He couldn't call for help. Either of those choices seemed hopeless. It was clear the thing had him right where it wanted. It was too fast, it wouldn't let him run. Even so he clutched the piece of paper harder. The creature started to lose his patience. It leaned closer. N pulled himself away, but he ended up with his back against the wall. Suddenly his eyesight became all blurred, and a crackling sound appeared in his head. He was sure he was done for. The closer the creature got, the more his eyesight acted as if it was just a TV with a really _really_ bad reception.

Suddenly a loud crashing sound echoed through the building's rooms. Entity turned around for a moment, to figure out what was going on. N's eyesight slowly started returning to normal. Just a second later he figured out Touya was sitting next to him, hugging him. The entity was gone.

"N, N what happened, you're shaking like crazy…"

Touya gently pulled him closer. Touko clinged to him as well.

"You're alright… thank Arceus you're safe…"

For a while no one said a thing. Touya carefully looked at his friend. It was obvious something had scared him to death. He wouldn't respond at all, just tears kept slowly rolling down his cheeks. At the moment, he was a nerve wreck. And N almost never lost his nerves. Touya didn't doubt there was something _else_ in this room with N, right before him and Touko entered. He had seen something. And whatever he saw, it scared him to death.

"It's okay, N. Calm down, we're with you. It's okay."

He finally understood now, what he had gotten his friends into. N took quite a blow, his shirt was torn at some places, at some places it even seemed like something made a clean cut. His left cheek was covered with blood, flowing from a deep cut, barely missing his eyes. But his right wrist seemed the worst. It was covered with bruises and cuts, as if something was wrapped so tight around it it managed to cut through his skin. It was close to markings of wire or rope, but Touya was sure it was something way worse than that. He was still holding on to a small piece of paper. Probably one of the eight pages. But for what a price…

Touya could feel tears burning in his eyes. He made stupid mistakes, N was the one to pay. And even after all he had been through, Touya somehow knew N still had it good. He was convinced that the mythical being won't stop, until it kills them all, one by one.

He watched Touko gently stroke N's hair to calm him down. He knew N needed them both now, maybe more than ever. He sat down next to his friend, took his left hand into his own and gently squeezed it, to let him know he's not going to just leave him behind.

_I'm never going to let you get hurt like this again, N. Never again._

**A.N:** Hooraaay!

After a long long delay, chapter 2 is finally up. The first page is obtained, and things get tricky. With all due respect, Slenderman's first appearance. He can always get close to you in the bathrooms (today I retried to get all 8 pages in the actual game and I checked the whole course, including bathrooms. I walked into the bathrooms with four pages on me, which resulted in major slaughter.) Hopefully this chapter captured his creepyness. Touya and Touko managed to get in in time, so with amazing ammount of luck, N survived the first horrifying encounter. Better sleep with one eye open, BW boys and girls, because Slenderman never gives up. He stalks his prey until he brings them to the verge of paranoia. Then he "mercifully" kills.

So, read and review, reviews are very appreciated. The next review will result in me updating. And hopefully it's a positive one, to build up my motivation more.

I hope to read your responses soon, while I work on the continuation of this scary, crazy fanfic.

Cya soon

_Jody14_


	3. Page 2: Touya's Will to Protect

**A.N:** Wow. One night since chapter two was submitted, and three reviews were received already. I am truly genuinely flattered :D. Since so many reviews were submitted, and story was favorited once, I'm super _super_ motivated. A very big _thank you_to all you guys who read and reviewed this story. Another chapter is ready for submission.

Once again, to remind you of facts important for this chapter. The bathroom has 4 rooms (two have exits nearby, and two don't). There are two exits in the middle of the building, but they are not there in the story. Flipped over chair is originally on the corridor leading to the room that ends up being a dead end one, but it was moved to the one that leads to the corridor with exit in the end for chapter's convenience. Also, as sad as it is, nothing except pages can be picked up in the game. I'm definitely changing that. Slenderman's original height is 8-10 feet, which is a little less than 2 meters and a half (2.44 meters specifically) to a little more than 3 meters (3.04 meters specifically). To be safe, I'm making him 9 feet tall, that's 2.74 meters. In game, bathroom is higher than that and you don't have a feeling of him being so tall, unless he's so close to you you just can't run away anymore. But to really point out the fact that Slenderman is really so tall and frightening, I'm making the bathrooms 3 meters tall. With that, his terrifying height would really cause its fear factor to be at its full potential, since he'd be almost as high as the building. Thank you, internet _Feet to meters converter_, now I know how tall approximately Slenderman is.

So, where we left off, Slenderman had appeared for the first time. The one that was to encounter him first was N. Due to him being lucky, he survived. One of the few, who didn't disappear the first time they saw Slendy. Like Touya said, he's the last thing you'll ever see. Don't piss him off, don't take his things. You might regret it.

So, let the story go on.

**3. Page 2: Touya's Will to Protect**

Time passed. Touya remained just sitting next to N, still holding his hand and waiting. Touko leaned on N's shoulder and fell asleep. Ever since the time Touya and Touko broke into the bathrooms and reached N, he didn't say a word. Only now, sometimes his hold on Touya's hand tightened. Finally Touya asked.

"You okay?"

N pulled his knees up to his chest. Then he finally nodded. Touya smiled.

"I'm glad…"

He looked down at his hand still holding N's. It was still covered with the same bandage N sacrificed his shirt's sleeve for. He was always so kind towards everyone. It seemed only right for Touya to return his kindness.

"Here."

He took off his jacked and put it around N and Touko's shoulders. He slowly stood up. For a couple of second N just watched him leave. Then he silently asked.

"Where are you going to go?"

"Nowhere. I'm just going to check what's outside. I'll be back soon. We can wait until morning and continue the search."

"Touya…"

"N, I told you, I'll be back right away."

"Don't go, please, just don't go… you can't leave us alone, if that _thing_ comes back… I won't be able to protect _her_, if it comes back… I couldn't even save _myself_, I just _froze_ and…"

Touya looked back at him. It was clear N was about to cry again, he could see his eyes filling with tears, clearly reflecting in the little moonlight that was left falling through small rectangle-shaped windows.

"N…"

Touya sat down next to him again and looked him directly in his eyes. He heard it was a good method to calm a child down. He truly hoped it'd work on N as well.

"N, can you tell me _what exactly_ did you see? It looks like it scared you to death, what was it?"

For a short while, N didn't answer.

"Come on, N, remember what I said? We have to work together if we ever want to get out of here. If we don't…"

"I'm sorry, Touya. I just can't tell you, what it was. It's too hard to describe it with just words…"

N's grip on the little piece of paper tightened. Touya sighed.

"Then give me the page, at least… I'm not sure if it's going to be any help, but we can at least try to figure out what it means…"

N watched him for a while, then he slowly handed him the piece of paper. Touya stared at it for a while. There was no way he could figure out what it meant. Like N told him when he found it, there was nothing useful on it. Just a sketch of a faceless creature next to a tree, and a single word scribbled at the bottom.

'_Follows' _

For a while he didn't move, thinking about what the message could mean, as clear and simple as it was. Then he finally looked back at N.

"N, is _that_ the thing you saw? The one on the picture?"

N silently nodded.

"What happened?"

"I… I don't know, it just got dark all of the sudden… after the room lit up again he was standing right above me, demanding that I give him the page, but… it was so weird, when I looked at him, I had this strange feeling, I heard crackling noises and… my eyesight went all weird, it was almost like… like _static _or something."

Touya put the page in his pocket. So that how it was? A being without any facial features. Static. At least now he had two pieces of information. He knew what he was supposed to be looking for. He also knew what he should be wary of.

"N, look… I'll be back, I promise. I'll just check if the outside is safe. I'll be back to get you two, and if it's safe we can just walk away together."

Touya could tell that deep inside N didn't like this plan. Still, he just nodded in the end. Touya stood up, turned the flashlight on and started to make his way towards the exit. He carefully looked around the first corner. Nothing. He took a deep breath, and kept walking. Soon he had to make another turn. Still nothing. He could already see the exit now.

Right before he walked out he took a deep breath. He slowly scanned the surroundings with a small beam of light. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Small opening in the forest seemed as empty as ever. Just small clouds of fog were rolling right above the ground. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful. He pointed the flashlight down, to light up his watch.

He just froze, staring at the small screen, unable to believe what he saw.

Ten 'o' clock. It was ten in the morning.

Ten 'o' clock, and yet there was no sign of sun in the sky. There was no sign of a dawn in the east, and it didn't seem it could happen anytime soon. Just moon was still there, floating above him in the night sky, revealing grass and dry leaves on the ground rustling from time to time in the sudden breeze. Touya scanned the small field with his eyes and looked back towards the forest. He aimed the flashlight towards a group of trees in the distance.

Suddenly his sight flickered.

What the heck was that?

He covered his eyes and dropped the flashlight. What just happened?

He rubbed his eyes and picked up the flashlight. He turned back towards the same group of trees. His eyesight flickered again, but this time he didn't avert his eyes.

He thought he could see something pale in the distance, staring right back at him. He wasn't completely sure though. As soon as he could barely see through flickering black and white dots he backed up and returned to the safe shelter of the building. Was that what N told him about? An entity without any facial features at all. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. A pale cruel entity, just watching their every step and waiting for them to make a mistake.

Touya clenched his teeth and turned the battery off. They couldn't stay here any longer. It was still safe for now, but…

Leaving this place wasn't safe either. He was definitely waiting for them in the distance.

All of the sudden he turned around. There was something else on the other side of the corridor. He walked closer towards the other side of the hallway.

Another door?

N never mentioned there was another door on the other side of the building. Did he just miss it, or…

He slowly pulled on the door-knob. The door opened and Touya grinned. Back entrance. Just perfect. If they make it to the other exit, while _he_'s waiting for them on the other side… it was worth a try.

He returned to the room where N and Touko were waiting for him. As soon as he walked into the room they both jumped.

"It's okay, it's just me."

Touya turned on his flashlight for a second, to convince them it really was him. N sighed and leaned his forehead on top of his knees. Touko gently rubbed his back to calm him down. Then she turned to Touya.

"Did you find anything?"

"Well… if we keep going, there's another exit on the other side of the building. He's definitely waiting for us. But even he can't be at two exits at once. So I have an idea. He's where we entered, at the west side. We'll leave through the exit on the east. I'll try to distract him. In the mean time, go with N to the east side and wait for me at the back. If he's too busy dealing with me, he won't be able to attack you two. Just keep calm."

Touko nervously fidgeted.

"I don't know, Touya…"

"Touko, listen…"

Touya gently pulled her further away from N. He wanted to talk to her alone. He really didn't want to scare N anymore than he already was.

"Touko, you have to trust me. I know I was the one to get us into this mess. I know this is all my fault. But what I really wish for is for us to get out of this, together. N got pretty badly hurt, but I'm sure that thing isn't nearly done with him. He'll be back. And next time he comes for him, N might not be as lucky, you can be sure of that. Help him, so you can pass the first doorway unnoticed. After that, he might leave you alone, and you might be able to get out safely."

Touko bit her lower lip.

"Touko…"

"Okay."

Touko clenched her teeth.

"Okay, fine Touya. We'll leave with N. I believe in you and I'm sure you'll do everything you can to make sure we get out of this place. However…"

"However?"

"Touya…"

Touko hugged him really tight. Touya embraced her as well. She was shaking. Was she crying silently?

"Touya, promise me you'll come back."

"I promise, Touko."

Touya smiled. His sister sniffled and let him go. They both walked over to N.

"Hey, N… come on, let's go. It's not safe here anymore."

Touya reached his hand to him. N looked up at him, then he finally managed a smile and took Touya's hand.

"Come on, stand up. We're leaving."

Touya pulled him back on his feet. Together they slowly made their way towards the west exit. Touya stopped there. As soon as Touko an N passed the doorway and walked around first corner, he turned on the flashlight and slowly scanned the field outside.

"Just keep going… it'll be alright."

He kept looking out for anything suspicious. Something seemed wrong though. Suddenly the realization sent chills down his spine.

The feeling just wasn't there. There was no sinister chill in the air, no strange sounds in his head. No static. Faceless man in a suit just wasn't there. Touya kept turning around in panic, hoping he might see him somewhere outside.

"Where are you, where the heck are you…"

Suddenly he heard someone gasp. A loud _thud_ echoed through the hallways and Touko screamed.

"N! N, are you okay?"

Touya turned around in a flash and dashed across the corridors to reach the duo. He didn't even care if the thing popped up right in front of him the next time he made a turn, as long as he managed to reach N and Touko. He finally caught up to them. It seemed like N had collapsed. He was sitting on the floor, sobbing, shutting his eyes tight and covering his ears. His breathing was fast and shallow.

"N!"

Touya knelt down next to him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"Touko, what's going on, what happened to him?"

"It's… it's that static again…"

Touya turned back to N.

"Static?"

"When we were passing the corridor it just happened all of the sudden, my head is ringing… it just _won't go away_…"

Touya clenched his teeth.

"Touko, do you see something… anything?"

Touko shook her head. Touya started to look around in panic. Suddenly black and white flashed in front of his eyes as well. He tried to keep calm. When he raised his head, he could see Touko shutting her eyes and covering her ears as well.

"Touya, what _is_ this crackling sound?"

"I'm not sure! Keep looking, if you see anything, anything at all…"

Touko shook her head again. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, except for her eyesight, which was going haywire. Touya kept turning his head around. Where was he, where the heck _was _he…

Suddenly N opened his eyes. For a moment he just kept blankly staring into the ground. Then he whispered.

"He's here…"

Suddenly Touko screamed on top of her lungs. Touya turned around. He was right there, standing half hidden behind the corner of the hallway, just watching them. Building was about three meters tall, yet the entity was almost touching the ceiling with his head. Touya shut his eyes, when static became too intense to take.

"_Run! Just look away from him and RUN!"_

He jumped up, pulled N back on his feet and ran as fast as he could. He knew he'd follow them. The exit was right in front of them, and yet they could get caught any second. Touko reached the doorway already. Touya pushed N towards the exit as well, then turned around as fast as he could. He grabbed the first thing he could see, a flipped-over chair in the corner. He swung it towards the head of the entity following them across the hallway. He didn't react. The moment Touya could see that the creature didn't lift his abnormally long arms in his defense, he thought that he'd nail him. He couldn't possibly miss. It all happened too fast for Touya to process. All of the sudden tentacles sprung from the creature's back, slamming directly through the chair and shattering it in his hands. Touya didn't have a choice. He had to turn around and run. He found himself on an open space behind the bathroom house. There was nothing, but rusted oil tankers. He had no place to hide, except…

He threw himself under the nearest tanker, turned off the flashlight and waited. Just a moment later static flashed in front of his eyes again, and a pair of legs appeared next to the tanker he was under. Being was right next to the oil tank, staring into the night with his faceless head. He knew Touya was close. Really close. He just couldn't make out where. Touya covered his eyes with his hands and tried to keep his breath under control.

'_Calm down…'_

Flashes of static still didn't stop.

'_Calm down, it's alright… he doesn't know where you are…'_

It was getting worse. Touya didn't dare to open his eyes. He didn't want to see the creature bending his knees and looking under the tanker.

'_Don't scream, breathe normally, he'll leave…'_

Suddenly the crackling sound silenced down, and static flashes disappeared. Touya slowly opened his eyes. Creature's feet were definitely gone, but Touya didn't trust him. He could be anywhere, just waiting for him to leave his hiding place. He was hoping N and Touko managed to keep calm long enough to get away.

It was hard to see anything. Then he suddenly noticed a pair of very familiar boots and green sneakers right behind the oil tank on the far right. He still didn't think it was safe to come out. He was seriously hoping flashlight's beam would reach that far. He pulled it from behind his belt and aimed it towards Touko's feet.

He turned it on and off. Then back on, and off again in a matter of seconds. He could see Touko flinch.

"N, what is that…"

Touya kept turning the flashlight on and off. N didn't answer Touko for a while, but after a minute or so Touya could finally hear him whisper as well.

"It's Touya… he's sending us a signal. He's safe."

Touko suddenly sat down, buried her face in her hands and started crying in relief. Touya could hear her sobs. He could see N sit down and gently pull her close as well. She leaned on his shoulder and kept crying. Touya clenched his teeth. He had to protect them, both of them. He knew N liked Touko, he didn't have a doubt he'd help him protect her if he asked him to. But in the end, he still had to protect N no matter what.

Touya silently sighed. He pulled himself from under the tanker and stood up. He walked around the field and rejoined his sister and his friend.

"Are you two both okay?"

N nodded in response.

"Touko is still a little bit shaken, but she's not hurt… she thought you were done for though, we heard a crash, what happened?"

"I… I tried to hit him with the chair. It… broke, kind of."

N watched him in awe.

"What do you _mean_ it _broke_? When you hit something with a chair it's supposed to put it out of commission for an hour and a half at least!"

"Look, I hit him, almost… it's complicated N."

N sighed, but didn't ask him any more questions. He knew full well, that facing the creature is no joke. Touya was lucky to get out alive.

"Touko, let's go. We have to keep moving."

N pulled Touko's arm over his shoulders and helped her get up. Touya smiled. He could tell N was still shaken from his first encounter with what myths referred to as Slenderman, but he managed to pull himself together. He knew he had to keep calm and help Touya protect Touko. There was no time to be afraid.

Touko took a deep breath. Then she clinged to her brother.

"Touya… Touya you idiot…"

She just kept sobbing and clinging to him. Touya hugged her to calm her down.

"It's okay, Touko. We're going to get out of this, I promise…"

"I thought you were _finished_!"

Touya just laughed in response.

"Touko, calm down. I'm not going down that easily. After all, I need to make sure you two get out of this safe. I don't have any intentions of dying before that."

Touko just kept clinging to him for a while. Finally Touya gently pushed her away.

"Okay, guys, let's focus. We have a page. Let's find the rest of them and let's get us of this dump already."

N had to smile.

"I have to wholeheartedly agree with you, Touya. This place just isn't where I want to be on Saturday night."

"Damn right it's not…"

Touya turned the flashlight back on and scanned the tankers carefully, but still as fast as he could.

"While we're at it, we can check if there's one here."

"You sure? Do we have enough time to do that? This field is quite on the open, we won't really have time to run if he decides to come back all of the sudden."

"Well, we'll just have to keep this expedition fast, won't we, N?"

Touya walked around another of the tankers, and suddenly stopped. Touko jumped.

"What is it, Touya?"

"Bingo."

N and Touko both looked up. A piece of paper was hanging off the oil tank, fluttering in the wind from time to time. Touya slowly reached for it, but stopped for a second. He turned his head back to N and Touko.

"On three, I'll take it off. As soon as I do, we run towards the forest. Don't stop and don't waste your time looking back. Stop only in the forest, where you'll be able to hide."

Touya turned back to the piece of paper. Once again there was nothing significant on it. Just another sketch of the being and the word _'no'_ scribbled multiple times all around it. As if someone was trying to warn them that they shouldn't be messing with the creature.

Touya gulped and reached his hand once again.

"One… two… _three_!"

He pulled the page off the tanker, turned around and ran away as fast as he could. He could hear N's footsteps right behind him, and Touko was still able to keep up with them as well. Only about fifteen meters were left. If they manage to reach the trees they'll be safe. But he could hear something else besides N and Touko following him. He turned his head around. He was standing on top of one of the tankers and watched them run. He didn't follow them, just stared at them, turning his head into their direction all the time. Touya kept running. Just running. Just a couple of meters, and it'll be okay. He looked over his shoulder once again and stopped under the branches of the nearest tree. Touko and N caught up to him merely a second later. Touya kept looking at the same direction, towards the top of the tanker where seemingly human creature used to be.

"Touya, is everything okay?"

Touya shook his head when Touko took his hand.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we have to keep moving."

He turned around, lit up the path and walked into the woods. Touko and N slowly followed him. After a while they figured out they were lost and they decided to stop and rest for a while. Touko sat down and hugged her knees. Touya gave a meaningful look to N. He wanted to talk to him, alone. N understood the hint and joined him.

"Listen, N… when we picked up the second page back where oil tankers were… he was there as well. I saw him. Then moments later when I looked back again, he was just _gone_. It took him less than three seconds to disappear. He didn't follow us though, he just kept watching."

"I thought he would. You know, back at bathrooms… well he was _right there_ in front of me. But the moment you and Touko walked into the room, he just _vanished_. He was _so close_ to killing me. But he just left all of the sudden. I thought I was imagining things, but… it seems like he really can disappear on a whim."

"I guess he really can. We have no clue what else he can do. You've seen what happens every time he gets too close, or when you look directly at him. It's like he influences our senses, he's trying to cut our sense of sound and sight off. If we can't see, we can't really run away, can we… and the first thing you rely on if you can't see is sound or touch. He cuts off our hearing as well, by making us hear crackling sounds that overpower every other sound we could pick up from surroundings. My guess is that he emits electromagnetic waves that mess up our senses by influencing electromagnetic waves in our brain directly. And the next time I see him, I don't really want to rely solely on my sense of touch, since I don't want to get too close to him… well, you know."

N nodded. He still didn't forget the first time Slenderman got too close to _him_.

"Also… remember when I said I tried to slam that chair into his face? There's a simple reason I didn't hit him back then. I could do it, I really could. I swung that chair with every ounce of might I had left in me. I was convinced I'm not going to miss, I was sure I can at least defend myself, if not give him a clear message to leave us alone. He shattered that chair. He broke it in my hands. It was halfway to his head, in midair and swung with full force. Yet he shattered it. He sprouted some kind of tentacles or something. The moment they pierced that chair it shattered to pieces. Meaning there was a lot more force in his tentacles than I put into swinging that chair towards him. Trust me, N, the less we see him, the better."

N sighed.

"Touya… you think we even stand a chance? I mean…"

He crouched and hugged his knees. Touya watched him for a while. He knew what N meant. He didn't want to be here. Touya understood that. He felt the same way. He loved horror, but knowing that there was a creature around that badly wanted to kill them all didn't really make him feel at ease. This wasn't a story, or a myth. It really was happening, and Touya didn't like it one bit.

"Hey, N… "

Touya crouched down as well.

"It'll be okay, somehow. I'm not going to let anything happen to you or Touko. I'll do everything I can, and I _mean everything_, to keep you two safe. Even if it costs me my life. I got you into this, and I promise I'm getting you out as well. But… you know… I really want us to get out of this… _together_."

Touya grit his teeth, but he could already feel tears burning him in his eyes. N could tell his voice broke down as well. He reached with his hand and patted Touya on the head.

"We'll find them. I'm sure we will."

Touya sniffled and nodded. He didn't want to think about what might have happened to Belle and Cheren. He wouldn't be able to take it.

"Is there anything else we know about him, Touya… anything else that might help us get out of here alive?"

"Well…"

Touya raised his head.

"Besides the fact that he can give off electromagnetic waves, make our senses go haywire and sprout tentacles from his back on spot… it looks like he also manipulates time and space. Back then at oil tankers… he only needed three seconds, and he was already gone. You said he vanished in the bathrooms too, and when I ran away from him he caught up to me quite fast as well… it looks like he can _teleport _or something similar. Maybe he can bend reality if he wants to. Right now my watch says it's half past twelve. Yet the moon is still up. It's like there's no dawn, the sun never comes up… maybe there's no time flow here at all, maybe we're stuck in a time-space dimension altogether. I have no clue what else he can do. But it's clear we're not going to come close to him, if we're smart. It's too dangerous."

"Well, if he can teleport… how can we even defend ourselves? We can't run from him, if he decides to follow us."

Touya shook his head and stood up.

"I don't know, N. It'd be a good idea to keep moving though. Staying on one spot too much might make us an easy target."

N nodded and stood up as well. He walked back to Touko and offered her his hand. She accepted it and let him help her stand back up. Together they returned to Touya and they continued their journey through the woods.

* * *

**A.N:** Yeeeah, it's done, another chapter is done!

I need to start writing this story more, because only one more chapter is complete in my notebook. I wouldn't want to keep you guys waiting for months before I finish the story. It might pause for a while after next chapter, but I'll be working on it as long as I have some time to spare.

To review it shortly, probably most of you have noticed. Now, the gang refers to Slenderman as "he" respectively. Two pages were obtained, and it gets serious now.

Read and review, I'll keep on posting those chapters.

Cya soon.

_Jody14 _


	4. Page 3: Separated and Reunited

**A.N.:** Hey there. I'm back again. I'm sorry it took me such a long time. I really am. University is tough. Luckily, mini vacation is coming up for me soon. I'll be able to study at home alone, and I'll be taking short pauses to do little things like draw and write, hopefully type as well. I won't be able to study all day.

I still owe an answer to** Sora-Mew**: Yes, I came up with lyrics in the first chapter by myself. There was a poem I wanted to use the one that goes "Roses are red, Violets are blue..." however I felt like the poem was overused all over internet, so I came up with an original. However I don't know what movie do you mean, this is just a fanfiction, nothing from this is canon in any way.

Now, going on with a story.

**4. Page 3: Separated and Reunited**

They wandered the forest without rest. Touya knew the needed to find the rest of the pages, and _fast_. They couldn't afford to fall asleep; it was way too dangerous for them to risk it. They didn't have endless supplies of energy either.

He reached into his pocket and gripped a pair of pages he still had in his hand. He was hoping they'd help them, protect_ them_ somehow. But it only seemed to get worse. The only thing they achieved was _him_ following them constantly now, wherever they went. Every once in a while he saw him lurking in the shadows of the trees. Every time he looked away, as soon as buzzing in his head became unbearable. Touko knew something was wrong. She was holding tight on N's arm, while N was watching over her carefully.

The path dragged on and on. They've been walking for hours, but they hadn't found any other place where another page could be hidden. Touya was getting nervous. Each moment was horrifying, since he didn't know whether he's leading their friends towards something dangerous, or if he's even still on the right path. And all the while, the creature followed in the distance. Touya would have thought they were walking in circles, if he hadn't known that he can disappear anytime and reappear anywhere.

Finally, Touko sat down.

"I can't do this anymore, it's like we've been walking for hours! Can't we take a break for a while?"

Touya turned around. He flashed his flashlight at both, his friend and his sister. Touko hugged her knees and leaned with her back towards the tree trunk, watching him. N seemed worn out as well, but he didn't say a word to complain.

"Okay then. Let's stop for a couple of minutes."

N sat down as well. Touya slowly scanned tree barks around them with his flashlight. For now it seemed peaceful enough. He didn't feel tired at all. He had to stand guard and make sure N and Touko were okay.

Touko leaned back and stared at the skies above for a while. She felt uneasy. Sometimes, the sight of night sky calmed her down. But in this world, even skies were threatening, coloured a slight reddish tone. A short while later, N joined her. She pulled her knees closer to her chest. For a while none of them said a word. N was the one to speak first.

"Do you like stars, Touko?"

She silently nodded.

"If I feel scared, or on edge, or even lonely, I look up at the stars and it makes me feel easier. Looking at night sky leaves me feeling like everything will be okay."

N lifted his head to stargaze a little himself.

"But you know..."

Touko bit her lower lip. N turned back to her again.

"...stars here are cold, N. Covered by fog. Sky isn't a calming blue, but red in colour... hey, N..."

Touko turned to look him in the eyes.

"We're not in our world anymore, are we? I overheard you when you and Touya were talking. That thing... when we touched the tombstone it triggered a passage to a different dimension. Am I right?"

N looked back to the sky.

"I don't know, Touko." He finally admitted. "But... what I do know for sure is that you have to stay calm. Touya won't let anything happen to you. _I_ won't let anything happen to you."

Touko leaned her forehead on her knees.

"I don't want to die, N... not yet..."

N awkwardly patted her head.

"You're not going to die, Touko. We'll get out of here somehow. I'm sure there's a way..."

Touko lifted her head again and leaned on his shoulder.

"N... thank you for trying to cheer me up. Thank you for always being so optimistic. But it's enough..."

N silently watched her. He had never seen her like this before. Her eyes seemed cold and empty. She hugged her around the shoulder.

"It's enough, N... I know you're just trying to cheer me up... but that's not all, isn't it? You're trying to cheer _yourself_ up. You can't hide the fact that you're scared. You barely believe we'll get out of this yourself... after all you were the first to see him, the first who encountered him so up-close. When we managed to get in with Touya, you were scared out of your mind. I've never seen you this scared in your life. You were absolutely broken. And if that thing managed to break you, then I don't stand a chance. If we don't find the pages, we're done for. We only have two, and we have no clue where we are. But _he_ knows exactly where we are, doesn't he? He knows exactly when and where to strike, so it'll hurt the most... do you _really_ believe, N, that we'll all get out of this alive?"

For a while, N didn't answer. He was thinking about how to respond. In the end, he smiled.

"You know, Touko... you're right. I was scared to death back there. I have never been more scared in my life. But when I've heard Touya stand up to him so bravely... yes, he was reckless. But he was also brave. He fought that creature to protect both, you and me. And I couldn't do a thing. He's a lot stronger, than I am. His determination to protect us both is an inspiration to me... and my goal. Once, I'll be able to stand in front of that creature, without fear, to protect someone I love. But until then..."

Touko watched him carefully.

"Well, until then, there's no point in worrying, really. If I lose to my own fear, I'll never catch up to your brother."

Touko smiled, and gently hugged her friend.

"Don't worry about it, N. You're brave yourself, in your own way. I'm glad you're so reliable and you can always stay calm, even when most of people would lose their mind due to the fear. Touya teases you about it sometimes, doesn't he? About the way you hide your fear and seem calm on the outside?"

N laughed.

"Yeah, I guess he does. I can't really blame him. I'm too emotional sometimes, I easily get scared and..."

"It's okay, N. I love you the way you are. I love you, even though you're sensitive. Actually, no, I love you because you're sensitive. Even Touya admires you, really, even though he wouldn't admit it. Your kind heart of a child. Your care for everyone else. And even though you are easily scared, you can stay calm. That's where you're strong."

N laughed.

"That _strength_ you speak of, Touko... it was nowhere to be seen in a critical moment. I could have done _something_, I'm _sure_..."

"N..."

Touko took his hand and gently squeezed it. N returned her small affection. He knew she wanted to calm him down.

"Anybody would've been scared in situation you were in. Just the fact that you walked in there alone was incredible. I've seen him myself. You can't really describe the feeling, can you? How hopeless you feel, when he stands there, watching you without any eyes... how you feel like you can't do anything at all, when it feels like he's dragging your soul out of your body or something similar... but you, you were completely, _utterly _unprepared. You froze due to the shock. His presence itself is frightening. You couldn't fight back, not right then. Touya and me, we were horrified as well. He blocked the door somehow. He tried to separate us from you. Back then, I was terrified N. I was afraid I'd never see you again, and so was Touya. He's not fearless either, you know..."

For a while, N didn't answer. Then he finally nodded his head.

"Hey, N, Touko..."

Touya walked up to them.

"I think it might be a good idea to go. He's getting closer."

N turned to face Touya.

"Where is he?"

"Back there."

Touya pointed towards a small group of trees, not far away from them.

"Okay... is he still there? He didn't come any closer?"

"No. Not yet."

N took a deep breath. He stood up and offered his hand to Touko as well.

"Let's go."

Touya turned the flashlight off. Touko took his hand, while N held onto hers. Touya started looking for a way out, while N carefully watched the being behind them. He really was right there, just like Touya said. For a while he stared into a long arm, sticking out from behind the tree. When the buzzing in his head became too much to handle he shut his eyes, only for a moment. When he opened his eyes again he froze. The creature was now standing closer, much closer. He was merely ten metres away from the group. N had to shut his eyes again, as he felt as if the being is tearing his sanity away piece by piece. His eyesight was gone in flashes of static right before his eyes and the buzzing was becoming unbearable.

"Run... Touya, _run_!"

Touya looked back for a split second and gasped. He pulled his sister away and behind his back. N could clearly feel her hand, the only thing that held him onto reality slipping from his hand. Just as he thought he was done for he felt Touya's hand on his own, as the younger boy pulled him away as well.

"Run. Don't look back."

"What are you going to do, Touya?"

"I'll run and try to buy us time, there's nothing else we can do."

Touya pulled N closer and pushed the flashlight into his hands.

"Listen to me. Take care of my little sister. If anything happens to her, I swear to Arceus I'll never forgive you. I know you're capable of protecting her. Believe in yourself. I'll try to make him follow me. Only use the flashlight if absolutely necessary. It seems like it's dying. On three, okay?"

"But..."

"N, listen to me. You love her, don't you? Prove it to me. Protect her. Don't let anything happen to her. You _have _to be brave."

N nodded in response.

"Good."

Touya smiled.

"I knew I could count on you. I'll see you again, at the tombstone. I'll wait for you there, until you find your way back, okay?"

N nodded again. Finding the tombstone was a whole other thing altogether. If they get separated they might never find each other again in this blasted forest. Belle and Cheren disappeared completely, they haven't heard from them ever since they left. They didn't know whether they were even still alive. He knew the same could happen to him, Touko and Touya if they go each their own separate ways. But Touya had already made up his mind.

"Make sure you keep your promise, Touya."

Touya laughed.

"Don't you worry about me. Make sure you keep yours. Ready?"

N nodded again.

"One... two... _three_!"

As fast as they could, they ran off into separate directions. Touko followed N, while Touya made his way through the forest to his right. N looked back one more time as he ran. The creature turned its head, towards the direction they were running in and then back to where Touya disappeared. N hoped to Arceus they had confused him enough to let him stay on the spot for a while, not knowing who to follow. But his hopes didn't come true. Just a few seconds later, the being disappeared again.

N turned on the flashlight and checked the surroundings. It seemed safe. Did he decide to chase down Touya then?

He turned the flashlight off, and squeezed Touko's hand.

"Are you scared, N?"

"A little bit. I hope Touya makes it. It seemed like he fell for it and followed him."

Touko gently squeezed his hand as well.

"I'm scared too. But... if Touya thinks this is for the best, then we'll just have to believe him, right? Let's keep on going."

They kept walking in silence. They were still holding each other's hand. Every sudden noise made them jump and N turned his flashlight on to check if everything was okay. Yet it seemed that the creature wasn't around. When the same situation repeated for the sixth or seventh time N suddenly whined after he turned the flashlight on. Something flashed in front of his eyes. But it felt differently, than anytime he had seen that creature. The flash of light disappeared as soon as he looked away. Touko held tight onto his arm.

"What is it? N, is it him?"

"No, I don't think so..."

N turned the flashlight back on and slowly scanned the trees, until he found the source of the previous flash. He shielded his eyes from sudden light. The flash seemed to be his flashlight's beam, reflecting from the metal surface of a giant half pipe. He turned back to Touko.

"Hey... Touko... are you still tired?"

"A little. I can still walk."

"Maybe we don't have to."

N pointed towards the tunnel.

"Let's hide in there for a short while. I think we'll be safe in there."

They walked towards the giant metal tunnel. Just after they finally sat down, N realized just how very tired he was. Touko soon drifted to sleep. N knew this was a bad idea. He should have kept her awake, just in case if they had to jump up and run. But when she leaned her head to his shoulder he knew he doesn't have the heart to do so. He held on tight to the flashlight. He couldn't sleep. He promised Touya he'd watch over Touko. He promised.

Touko's head slipped off his shoulder and into his lap. N watched her sleep for a short while. She clutched his shirt in her hand while she slept. He put his hand on top of her head and gently rubbed her hair. The feeling calmed him down. She smiled, still in her sleep and buried her face into his lap. N sat there for a while in silence. Then his eyes started to close as well. Every sudden sound still made him lift his head, but it was clear he won't stay up for long. In the last ten minutes, he drifted to uneasy sleep about twelve times. Finaly, he gave up and his eyes closed as well.

* * *

Touya ran as fast as he could. He was still following him. He could tell. Every once in a while his eyesight blurred, and screeching noise in his head reappeared. He stopped once in a while, but only for a moment so he could catch his breath.

He was hoping he could lose him, zigzagging between the trees. But he was still on his tail. Obviously it wasn't easy to lose him. Turning around and facing him was pretty much pointless as well. Here, in the forest, that thing had an upper hand. He could disappear anytime. Reappeared anywhere. Touya doubted he'd make it, even if he ran without stopping. The only thing keeping him safe at the moment was probably his constant changing of direction.

He made a turn again, this time to the right. He was scared, but knew he should stay calm. Zigzagging like this made him lose his sense of direction. For a moment he thought he could see the same oil tankers they left while ago, but he couldn't be completely sure about it. It just could be that he was running in circles all this time. That thing could be right behind him right now. But he _had_ to _stay calm_. After another twenty minutes of running for his life he finally stopped.

He had no clue where he is.

Somewhere on his far right he could still see an open space with rusty metal tankers. So he really_ was_ running in circles.

He slowed down. He tried to think. There were two paths leading from their starting point, the little opening with the tombstone. One to the left and one to the right. Yet they decided not to follow any of them and walked straight into the forest. They found themselves in a giant open spot with bathrooms and tankers. He's been running for quite a while, and he was still close to the same place.

Then, it could only mean one thing. It was obvious.

They were stuck in a dimension, shaped like a giant circle. In the middle of this circle, there was an opening with bathrooms. But what was on the paths that led to left and right?

For a moment he thought he could hear branches crackling on his far right. He turned to his left and dashed off. He didn't want to meet that thing in complete darkness without his trusty flashlight. He was really hoping N and Touko were okay.

Suddenly he stopped again. He found another small opening. They weren't here before. He slowly stepped from the shelter of trees. He was expecting for something to jump out any minute. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

He took a deep breath and looked around. There were six tree trunks, cut down to the same height. Except for that, the place was completely empty.

Touya suddenly got chills.

The pages they needed to find... there was one in the bathroom. One on the tankers. Could it be, that these pieces of paper were scattered all over the forest, on different landmarks? They have not yet found a page hanging on a random forest tree. So could one be here?

He slowly walked towards cut down trees. He checked all six of them, one by one. Nothing. No page, no clues, nothing whatsoever. He put his hand in his pocket again and felt pieces of paper under his fingers.

They've gone through so much to get them. They had to go separate ways. N got so close to being killed. Touya still didn't know whether they were safe or not. Even though he knew he could count on N, he was worried that he might not be able to handle the task. Who would?

Suddenly the forest disappeared in a flash. He felt dizzy and leaned on one of the cut down tree barks with his back. What the heck was that? The feeling was so close to how he felt when he had seen him for the first time, but it was so different at the same time. Back then his eyesight gradually slowly faded away. This time, the flash was way more intense, but it lasted less than a second.

Touya could tell he was shaking. He had no clue what happened, but he could be sure it wasn't good. For a moment he lost his orientation, eyesight, maybe even consciousness. Was that one of the creature's abilities as well? Was he trying to confuse him and make him lose sense of direction, causing him to blindly run into the forest straight into him?

Another flash followed. This time he found himself on the ground on his knees. He felt nauseous. Dizzy. He knew the thing was close. Very close.

He tried to get back on his feet. He had to leave, now.

By the time he got back on his feet he shivered again. Something was wrapping tight around his left arm. He shook it off, moved away and lifted his head. He was standing right there, half hidden behind one of the cut down tree trunks, his blank face turned straight towards Touya's. Long black tentacles slowly spread from his back. Touya moved a step further away and kept his eyes focused on the being. When he thought he won't be able to take the feeling anymore, when he felt like his soul was about to be torn out of his body, he turned away and ran. Merely a moment later he heard a _swoosh_, as tentacles swept through the air. Without a second thought he threw himself to the right. Three black tentacles slammed through the ground on his left. One missed just by an inch. He could feel it tear through the fibres of his left sleeve. The creature subtracted the tentacles, and Touya was convinced it was just taking another aim.

"_Don't think you'll get away, Touya..."_

Touya jumped on his feet and kept his eyes glued to the creature. Entity didn't seem like it was about to attack, but Touya was ready to move away anytime he needed to.

"How do you know my name?"

For a second there was no response. Touya had a bad feeling that the thing was mocking him, even though it had no face.

"_I know everything, Touya... your name... your past... your future... I know what you have in your left pocket as well. Be a good boy and give me back what is mine."_

Touya's fingers wrapped around the pieces of paper he still had with him.

"I can't give you these pages. If they are going to help me save my friends, if they give them any chance of getting out of here, then I have to find them all. They can get us away from you. That's what you want to keep me from doing, aren't you?"

Silence fell over both for a few seconds. Touya had to look away for feeling of emptiness to fade away again.

"_Maybe. Maybe not. The longer you keep the pages, the more you risk. That you can be sure of."_

Suddenly the creature turned his head sharp to the left. Touya got ready to run. If he's about to try something, anything...

"Another has been found."

He disappeared as fast as he showed up. Touya looked around. He wasn't sure if he was safe or not. He could be behind any forest, in any shadow.

He jumped when he heard rustling behind his back. He turned around and got ready to fight. Then he sat down from sudden feeling of relief washing over him. From where the rustling was coming he could hear a familiar voice. He had never been this happy in his life.

"I can't believe this. It's like we're walking in circles. No matter which way we go, we always end up in the same place."

A girl and a boy stepped from the shadow into the moonlight. The boy fixed his glasses. Touya jumped up, rushed to him and hugged him so tight they both almost fell over.

"What the... get _off _me!"

"Cheren... Cheren, Belle, I can't believe this..."

"Touya?"

Cheren gently pushed him away to make sure the boy hugging him was in fact his lost friend.

"It's Touya, Touya, Touya, It really is Touya!"

Belle shrieked and ran over to her friend. Touya wrapped his arms about them both and for a while just sobbed in relief. Cheren merely patted his head in confusion, while Belle hugged him back tight.

They just stood there hugging each other, as if they hadn't seen each other for years.

* * *

N blinked and turned on the flashlight. Did he fall asleep? That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. What if something had attacked them in the meantime? He promised Touya he'd look after Touko. If he doesn't manage to keep this promise, Touya will kill him on the spot.

He put the flashlight down and it lit up the girl's motionless body. She was still asleep, leaning her head on his lap. He laid his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her to wake her up.

"Hey, Touko... come on, you have to get up... we have to go. Touko..."

It took him ten minutes to wake her up. She finally rubbed her eyes.

"What is it, N, what's going on..."

The moment she realized she fell asleep in the boy's lap she blushed and jumped up.

"I'm sorry, I'm _so_ so sorry."

N blinked in confusion.

"What is it you're so sorry about?"

Touko didn't answer, and he decided he won't keep asking.

"Come on, we have to go. We've stayed here for too long."

He picked up the flashlight and the circle of light moved up and down the walls of the inside of the giant tunnel. For a moment he saw something. Something bright and white, that had different texture than the metal wall. He stood up and walked up to the object. Touko joined him. He was right. They were staring at the page.

'_Always watches, no eyes.'_

Nothing else on the page, but a few words and a circle with two crosses where the eyes should've been. N glanced back to Touko.

"Should I take it off?"

"We have to. We have no choice."

N nodded and reached for the piece of paper.

"One... two... three!"

He took of the paper, and the moment it left the wall he started feeling dizzy. As if he was losing consciousness. He could've collapsed, if Touko didn't catch him.

"N! N, are you okay?"

"It's weird..."

N laughed.

"It's so weird... for a moment, it just flashed in front of my eyes... it was so intense... as if he was right behind me..."

He slowly got back on his feet. Both of them froze when they were reached by a cold emotionless voice.

"_It might be... because I am."_

"Touko..."

N didn't dare to turn around. He knew what's waiting for him, if he wastes only a moment to turn around.

"Touko _run_!"

They rushed off together and N could hear something smash through dry ground right behind their feet. While still running he turned around to see what happened. The entity was standing behind them in a tunnel. Countless black tentacles were stabbed through the ground, right on the spot him and Touko were standing just a second ago.

* * *

**A.N.:** Hooray. I finished this chapter, finally. I'm sorry it took me so long. Towards the end of the summer holidays I had a little bit of a block and I had to take care of things for university. After that, I just had no free time at all, and no will to type. Anyways, now I'm back with another chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll try to do another chapter as soon as possible, but no promises. University takes care of most of my time.

Yours sincerely

_Jody14_


	5. Page 4: Fatal False Conclusion

**A.N.:** Well, today I've had some time to spare, so why not update this?  
One more time, before you start reading this, I cannot stress enough how much school work I have. I'm very sorry for not updating this as regularly as you (or I myself) wish to update, but things have been hectic IRL.  
Even though I'm severely late in updating, I hope you enjoy reading this.

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**5. Page 4: Fatal False Conclusion**

"What happened to you guys? N said that he had tried to follow you, but you simply vanished."

Touya couldn't keep a straight face. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. Cheren and Belle were still alive and they managed to bump straight into each other. Maybe they'll get to leave this Arceus-forsaken forest after all.

"Well, to be honest I was furious with you Touya. Properly furious." Cheren admitted. "I coun't bear the thought of something happening to Belle. I was worried about her. You know that we can all cope, but Belle just freaks out when something unexpected happens. Anyways, after we left you guys we kept walking straight through the forest. After a short while we changed the direction. I knew one of you was bound to come running after us, and I really wasn't in a mood to deal with you thinking over your plans. My patience was running short as it was."

Touya didn't answer. He knew Cheren was right, there was no one but himself to blame for unfortunate turn of events they found themselves in.

"However..."

Cheren paused for a moment.

"... I soon figured out that I've made a horrible mistake. We should've stayed with you. We walked through the forest and it seemed like miles. Then everything blurred all of the sudden, and I had no clue what was going on. We found ourselves back at the tombstone. We tried to walk away a couple of times, but the whole process just repeated itself. By the time we came back to the tombstone you were long gone."

Touya nodded. They've left the opening in quite a short while, as soon as they discovered the message on the stone. It's no wonder they missed each other on the way.

"Hey, Cheren... did you and Belle _see_ anything? Anything out of the ordinary?"

They both shook their heads.

"Out of the ordinary? Like what?"

"Well... a man... in a suit."

Cheren chuckled.

"Are you insane, Touya? A man in a suit... what in the name of Arceus would a man in a suit be doing here?"

"Oh, nothing... I was just wondering, you know..."

Touya figured that discussing paranormal activity in this forest probably isn't the best idea. After all Cheren didn't believe in anything or anyone, unless he saw it with his own eyes. Touya knew that it worked for him, and that no one should just believe whatever they're told, but in this case...

"By the way, Touya, what do you have in your pocket? You've been sticking your hand in there ever since we met up, is something bothering you?" Belle suddenly asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing..."

"Come on, let me see!"

Belle screeched, dragged his hand out of his pocket and pulled pieces of paper out of his hands. Upon seeing the drawings she frowned in complete darkness. Cheren soon joined in on staring at the pair of papers, and laughed.

"Not really an artist, are you, Touya?"

Touya growled under his breath.

"A, these are not random drawings. B, they aren't mine."

"If they aren't yours, why are you keeping them with you and guarding them like they're your biggest treasure?"

"Because..."

Touya stopped before he could even start to explain. If he tells them, Cheren won't believe him anyway. The only thing he'll achieve by telling them is Belle freaking out. He didn't think it'd be fair to keep the story to himself either. Since he was the one who got them into this situation in the first place, he felt responsible to at least tell them how to defend themselves. They had the right to know.

"It doesn't matter. Give them back, they're important."

"Important, _why_?"

"You wouldn't even believe me if I told you either way, Cheren, so what's the point in telling you?"

"Try me. By the way, where have Touko and N gone to? I thought they were with you."

A sudden wave of sadness washed over Touya.

"Yeah. Yeah they were."

He looked up into the sky and hoped that his sister and friend are alright.

"Did something happen, Touya?"

"I don't know. We got separated."

"How?"

"I _don't know_ Cheren. Maybe because something kept following us! We had to go separate ways, we were trying to confuse him. It was the only way to save ourselves."

Cheren narrowed his eyes.

"Him? Something tells me you know more than you're letting me know Touya..."

"I would've told you, if you weren't so _sceptical_ about everything, Cheren!"

"Like I said, try me."

Touya shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew this won't end well.

"Look, when you guys left, I searched the glade together with Touko and N. We found a clear message on the tombstone, telling us to collect eight pages. On our way through the forest we found an abandoned building. Seemed like bathrooms of some sort, with a bunch of oil cisterns behind it. N volunteered to go in. I was standing guard with Touko. He got attacked by _something_ in there. By the time Touko and I reached him, he was scared out of his mind. We stayed there long enough for him to calm down. I looked for the way out, and I saw him too then. He was standing in the forest, watching us. When we tried to leave through the back door he struck again. We shook him off for a short while at the cisterns and found the second page. After that he followed us non-stop. Believe me or not, Slenderman is real, he exists and he won't stop until he kills us all. We _have_ to find the pages. Just before I found you two, he was with me. Just before he left, he said something among the lines 'Another one has been found.' I'm afraid Touko and N found another page while on the run. I don't know if they'll be able to shake him off easily this time. He might be chasing them right now, until he gets the page back, even if over their dead bodies. Maybe they bought us some time with that. Maybe he'll get confused teleporting all around the forest. I don't know. What I do know is, that we have to hurry up if we want to leave this place."

"Touya, seriously? Slenderman is a myth. A-le-gend. And do you know what the main point of legends is? They aren't real."

Touya sighed.

"Fine, fine, whatever. I'm sorry I told you, I knew you wouldn't believe it anyway..."

Cheren rolled his eyes.

"Belle, Slenderman doesn't exist. We just got back to the same place because we got lost and wandered in circles. Don't worry, not even _half_ of this legend is true."

Belle silently squealed.

"But Cheren, maybe Touya is telling the truth... maybe he exists, and..."

"Belle, he doesn't exist! Damn it Touya..."

Touya rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You really can't quit your scary stories for a second, can you? Enough is enough, you're scaring Belle! Sometimes you're really driving me insane, you know that?"

Touya didn't answer. He just wrapped his fingers tight around the pages in his pocket. He told Cheren everything he knew. If Cheren uses it to his advantage is up to him now. There's nothing more that he can do. If he doesn't believe him, it's not his fault anymore.

"It's up to you if you want to protect Belle or not. I told you whatever I could."

"Listen to me, you brat."

Cheren suddenly spun around and grabbed Touya by the collar. Touya could tell Cheren's blood was about to boil, and that was never a good sign.

"Don't make me slap you right after we met up again! It's up to _you _to protect Belle. You got us into this, and you're getting us out of this."

Touya laughed.

"Come on, Cheren, be a man. Something tells me you're just a chicken. That's why you don't want to admit paranormal. Because you're _afraid_ of it."

"_Paranormal doesn't exist_!"

"Just like it didn't exist back home at the tombstone. And yet, here we are."

Cheren didn't answer. He let go of Touya, turned his back on him and walked away. Touya clenched his teeth and followed him, while Belle clung to Cheren's arm. Suddenly he heard something rustle, and he turned around. Slenderman was standing right behind the nearest tree and watching them. After a sudden burst of nausea and static, Touya averted his eyes for a moment.

"_He doesn't believe in me." _

"No." Touya laughed. "No, he doesn't. That means you can't lay a tentacle on him. It says in the legend that you'll invade people's minds and follow them until they break. And then, _mercifully_ kill them off. But it also says in the legend that you can only be seen by believers. Those who are afraid of you."

"_You are wrong Touya, you are dead wrong, because the legend you have been told is wrong itself. I can do whatever I want. There are no limitations to what I can do in my own world. The fact that he doesn't believe is of no concern to me, nor is an obstacle."_

Touya turned around and ran after Cheren and Belle. He didn't want to hang around Slenderman. From time to time he looked back over his shoulder. Slenderman didn't move from the spot. Touya grit his teeth. When he disappeared before, did he follow N and Touko? Are they safe? And what is the most important; will they even see each other again?

Have they really found the page?

Touya hoped that they could cope on their own. The tombstone wasn't hard to find after all.

'Don't lose your nerves, N. You can find the tombstone anytime, and no matter where you go, as long as you keep going.'

He followed the pair. He was hoping they'll make it to the tombstone themselves in one piece, despite Cheren's scepticism.

* * *

N and Touko finally stopped. N wasn't sure whether he was still following them or not. The static was gone, but N was still holding on to the page, and he somehow had some doubt that he would just let them go so easily, without getting it back. He might be trying to make them believe they're safe. Touko walked beside him, holding tight onto his arm. He turned on the flashlight. It flickered and turned off.

"Damn it..."

He shook it so the light flickered back on again, but it barely lit up the closest trees. He turned it off. Touya was right when he said to spare the light. He wasn't joking when he said it was dying.

"What are we going to do now, N?"

"I don't know... it seems like he stopped following us. Maybe he's after Touya now."

Touko sat down and sobbed.

"I want to leave. I just want to get out of here!"

"I know, Touko, we all do. Let's try to find those pages, okay? We have three already, we're almost halfway through."

"N, this is _hopeless_! Touya is _gone_, Cheren and Belle _vanished_, and we don't even know if any of them are _still alive_! For all we _know_, we could be the last ones left! Maybe he took the pages away from Touya _already_, anything can happen!"

"Touko calm down. I'm sure he wouldn't be wasting time like this, if we were really the last ones left. When we are, he'll be going straight at us, without wasting any time. Right now he doesn't seem to be around. That means he's busy with Touya. He has been gone for so long, which means he's probably following him, meaning that Touya is still alive. He'll try to get back as many pages as possible at the same time, which makes Touya the better target. He has two pages, we only have one. We're trivial to him right now. Touya also knows how to take care of himself. You said you believe in him, didn't you? Well so do I. It'd be a good idea to stand up and stop sulking now; Touya clearly said that it's not a good idea to stay on the same spot for too long."

"He also said he'll be waiting for us at the tombstone, N. Do you even _know_ how hard it'll be to find it again? And even if we _did_ manage to find it, do you really think we'll be able to get there _unnoticed_?"

To her surprise, N started laughing. Touko started sulking again.

"I can't see the funny side. Mind to shed a little bit of light on the situation?"

"It's really _simple_, Touko. Finding the tombstone is the easiest thing right now. We just have to keep walking into the same direction, remember? We're surrounded by a force field that will always send us back to where we started. I can tell, because it happened to me already when I followed Cheren and Belle. Wherever you go, you'll always end up at the tombstone."

Touko stared at him for a short while.

"Remember what Touya said, Touko? He told us to meet up with him at the tombstone for a reason. I told him what happened to me when I was following Cheren and Belle, even though I was convinced I was running away from it. I'm sure Touya figured it out and strategically puts it all together. Every little detail, every piece of information we gather. He told us to meet him there, because he knew we'll end up there, no matter which way we go, just as long as we don't start panicking and actually searching for it. All we have to do is walk through the force field, which is..."

He pointed towards thick fog swirling just above the ground in the distance on their left.

"... right there. Trust me, Touko. It'll be alright."

Touko still didn't answer for a while. Then she took a deep breath.

"Are you really absolutely completely sure about this, N Harmonia?"

"Without a doubt. If you're afraid, you can hold my hand when we pass it."

"I'm not afraid, but I'll still hold your hand. If something goes wrong, I still want to stay with you at least, I don't want to end up on the other side of the forest all alone."

"Okay. Let's go together."

N gave her his hand. She accepted it. They walked towards the mist that swirled around together.

"Ready?"

Touko took a deep breath.

"Ready."

They stepped forward at the same time. The forest around them faded away as they kept walking. Touko shut her eyes and wrapped her fingers tighter around N's. It felt easier this way.

She had to believe in him. She_ wanted_ to believe in him.

* * *

"What in the name of Arceus is _that_?"

Cheren suddenly pointed towards something in the distance. Belle jumped and even Touya raised his head in surprise. No, Slenderman wasn't what he was looking at. Cheren was pointing to a giant metal silo, standing between the trees.

Touya sighed. Cheren almost gave him a heart attack.

"That, dear Cheren, is a silo."

"I'm asking what is it doing here, I can _clearly_ tell it's a _silo_!"

Touya wrapped his hand around the pieces of paper in his pocket again. Could silo be one of the landmarks as well? Bathrooms, cisterns, cut down trees...

"Nobody knows why it's here, Cheren."

Touya walked towards it and put his hand on it and slowly walked all the way around the metal structure. For the first time, he was hoping he wouldn't find another page here. He couldn't see a thing without a flashlight. Suddenly his heart jumped. About halfway around he could feel a piece o paper flutter under his fingers. Great. Just great. Now what? As soon as he takes it off, he'll show up again. If he doesn't tell Cheren and Belle, he'll lead them to certain death. He didn't want that. He had to convince them to run as soon as he picks it up. But Cheren obviously won't believe him. What is he supposed to do...

"Hey, Cheren..."

"What?"

"Would you believe me if I told you, that one of the pages is here?"

Cheren rolled his eyes.

"Not this again... Touya how many times do I have to tell you, I'm ready to believe pretty much everything at this point, but Slenderman is where I draw the line! He just doesn't exist!"

Belle hid behind the nearest tree. She didn't like it when boys were fighting. They did that pretty much frequently these times. It's all this stupid forest's fault, they never should've gone here.

"Cheren, look..."

Touya was starting to lose his patience. He wanted to save his friends and get the page at the same time. But with Cheren's constant denial, it didn't seem possible. If he won't be able to convince Cheren that the creature _will_ appear and that he _does _exist... that he _will _hurt him if he doesn't run... then all three of them are pretty much doomed. If that thing hurts Cheren, Belle will be too scared to run. And naturally he'll do anything to protect his friend, but he doubted he'd last a minute against Slenderman.

"I can't tell you any other way, Cheren. One of the pages I need is on the silo. Slenderman _does not_ want us to leave and I can _assure_ you that he will show up if we don't run. The pages can help. I don't know how yet, but they'll help. And I know for a fact that he'll be here to get it back the moment I take it off. If you don't run the moment I pick it up, you'll be as good as dead."

Belle shivered.

"Cheren, maybe we really should..."

"Jeez Belle..."

Cheren turned back to Touya.

"Look, Touya, when you pick up that page, absolutely nothing is going to happen. And even if it did, do you really believe that these pieces of paper will save you?"

Touya didn't avert his gaze and stubbornly stared back into Cheren's eyes. He knew how insane what he was about to say is going to sound...

"Yes, I believe they will. I don't know how they're connected to him and this dimension, but I'm certain they have some sort of power."

Cheren threw his hands up in the air in desperation and turned his back on him. He's had just about enough of Touya.

"Do whatever you want, but if you really believe that, then you're clearly insane."

Touya turned back to the piece of paper innocently fluttering in the breeze. He took hold of the piece, which had as usual a short warning message scribbled on it.

'Don't look... or it takes you...'

He got ready to run and tore off the paper with a swift move. Nothing happened. Everything remained quiet, and he couldn't be seen anywhere.

Touya clenched his teeth and Cheren burst into laughter.

"I think he's not coming, Touya. What's wrong, did he get scared of the dark?"

Touya didn't answer. Cheren couldn't feel him, but it was crystal clear to Touya that he was standing somewhere behind the trees in the shadows, mocking him. His plan was also an obvious one. He was trying to destroy his friends' faith in him, trying to make them lower their guard before he strikes again.

"Let's go. Keep moving. But be careful and keep your eyes open. He's trying to keep you from believing me."

"Damn it Touya for how long can you keep up the pretence? He isn't coming. He doesn't exist. The only thing you'll achieve with this is me questioning your sanity, because I'm just about to start doing so."

Suddenly everything darkened in front of Touya's eyes. He felt so sick, so very nauseous. His stomach was making turns like never before and he collapsed in pain.

"Touya? Touya , are you okay?"

"_You are so very smart, are you not, Touya?"_

Touya covered his ears. That was his voice. He was close. Even with him trying to ignore the pain and blocking the voice it was no use. It was like it was coming from inside his head.

"_It is a shame that he would not believe such a smart boy. But look again, clock is ticking, time flies by, no one gets a second chance in life."_

"Stop it, _leave him alone_!"

"_Do not concern yourself with this, Touya. You will see him again. Though not right now."_

Belle suddenly screeched.

Touya opened his eyes. Only a second later he could feel tears forming in his eyes, partly out of pain and partly out of despair. He was right there. Right behind Cheren. The moment he turns around it'll be over. But he knew he would, because of the way Belle was looking at him.

And he did.

"Cheren, don't look back you idiot, run!"

Even through his nausea, Touya managed to scream, but it was too late. Cheren turned around, and made a step back. He was caught off guard because of his height, horrifying presence towering above him and his blank face facing his direction as if it could see him, even without eyes. And in a way it felt like it could. It was like it was staring straight through his soul. Tentacles slowly spread from his back. Cheren didn't even dare to move.

"_What do you think, Cheren? Am I a projection? A cheap trick? Then tell me..."_

Touya shut his eyes when he heard a swoosh and a crash. When he opened his eyes again, he was surprised. Cheren wasn't hurt. A couple of tentacles Slenderman aimed at him tore through Cheren's right sleeve and crashed into the ground, but nothing more than that. But his heart soon sunk again as soon as the being spoke up again.

"_Do you think a projection is capable of this? I missed on purpose, boy. Do not make the mistake of thinking I will miss again."_

Touya grabbed the first thing he could find, which happened to be an old dry branch on the ground. He swung it with all the force he could muster and threw it towards the being. He just wanted him to forget about Cheren. Distract him. Anything to buy his friend enough time to get away from this thing. He barely got any response from him. He just swatted the branch away with one of his tentacles as if it were an annoying fly buzzing around his head.

"_Touya, your constant meddling in this... I find it slightly amusing. I know what you are carrying with you, and you know that I want it back. Do you really think you will live any longer if you keep resisting like this?"_

"I can give them back to you. If you promise to let us leave this place in peace."

Touya knew what his response would be. It was stupid to even try.

Slenderman chuckled.

"_Things are not that easy, Touya. You see, this is what I do, just like you have something you do."_

His tentacles raised and Touya knew he was getting ready for another attack. He had to get Cheren out of there. He jumped to his feet and dashed towards his friend.

"Please, don't do this, stop it!"

Before he could tell what happened ten or twenty tentacles rushed through the air and stabbed through Cheren's body. Touya covered his face, expecting Cheren's blood to splatter everywhere, but nothing of sorts really happened. Cheren's body started fading away and glowing until it shrunk to the size of a small blue shiny sphere. Touya could hear Belle sobbing behind his back. He needed to get her out of there as soon as possible. She didn't have to see whatever was about to happen.

"Let's go, Belle..."

"No..."

"Belle, let's go, there's nothing we can do."

"No!"

Belle shrieked and downright burst into tears. Touya watched Slenderman slowly stretch his arms out towards the sphere, and it landed on top of his hands.

"_Blue soul. A smart, rational person who only confides in facts and evidence. A non-believer, who will never trust in anything until it shows up right under his nose. And that was his downfall. What do you think, Touya?"_

Touya stared at the creature with a mixture of disgust and fear. Slenderman could tell exactly what kind of person the soul belonged to, and it was scaring him out of his mind. He took Belle's hand and pulled her away.

"_I will let you leave, for a while. I got a soul I came here to collect. Enjoy your time staying here. It could be fun. For me, that is. And do think about returning whatever you have, Touya. It will make little difference."_

"Trust me, if it is the means of us getting out of here, I won't stop until I collect them all."

"_As you wish."_

Slenderman put the glowing sphere that used to be Cheren's body into his pocket.

"_I should warn you though, it gets worse and worse from here on out."_

He disappeared and left Touya even more determined to get the pages and save his friends and Belle sobbing on the ground.

* * *

**A.N.:** And this then concludes chapter five. Four pages have been reached. Hell breaks loose. Slenderman is out to kill. It only depends who is going down first, and then people might follow like a set of dominos.  
For those who are wondering why I have chosen Cheren to be Slenderman's first victim, I definitely don't hate Cheren. He's a great guy, and I love both, him and Belle. However, I think it is fitting that he gets killed by Slenderman first, because I also hardly see him believing any ghost stories, until it's too late.  
'Narrator voice' So, that leaves four alive, and one dead in this story. Will the others survive? Will they die? Will Touya ever find the rest of the pages? And what happened to N and Touko? It will all be revealed in future updates.  
Hope you enjoyed reading it. Reviews are always appreciated.  
Sincerely, Jody14.


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